In the past two years only nine percent of work hours on City of Oakland-funded construction projects went to African-Americans

At the same time, some elected officials are moving ahead on a Project Labor Agreement with Buildings Trades unions that would ensure that almost no Black workers or contractors are hired on future city-funded projects.

Plans for the agreement are being discussed without considering the impact on Black contractors and workers though the city has not completed its long-awaited disparity study that will examine discrimination in city contracts that impacts minorities and women.

The next Post Salonwill discuss the need for a city equity-based jobs policy and related issues.

Join us for the first Open Session of the 2018 Anne Braden Anti-Racist Training Program!*

Colonization and Resistance

Puerto Rico. Palestine. Oakland and Berkeley. Three visionary community leaders will speak with us about the ongoing colonization of these places, and the politics and strategies of indigenous resistance. Come learn about how we can stand with these powerful liberation movements.

We are particularly excited to be flying in Alicia Rodríguez, a former political prisoner who has been part of the Puerto Rican independence movement for the last 40 years. She will join local movement leaders Corrina Gould, currently leading the fight to save the West Berkeley Shellmound and return sacred land to native stewardship, and Lara Kiswani, Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center.

We will be livestreaming this event! Check into this facebook event page day of to follow it!

ACCESSIBILITY INFO

Childcare available (please RSVP to childcare@collectiveliberation.org by Tuesday the 13th)
This event is wheelchair accessible
We will be providing projected live transcription
Please email us at accessibility@collectiveliberation.org by Tuesday, Feb 13th, to request ASL interpretation, language translation, or with other access needs.

This will be a reduced-scent space and there will be fragrance-free seating area. Please join us in ensuring accessibility for beloved community members with chemical injuries and chronic illness by not bringing fragrances or scents on your clothes, hair, or skin from colognes and perfumes, scented laundry detergent, hair and body products, “natural” products, and essential oils. Please prepare in advance by not using products with fragrance, or by using fragrance-free, non-toxic products. For more info on what this means, visit here.

Artwork above by Annie Morgan Banks

Panelist Bios:

Corrina Gould is the spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan/Ohlone. She is an acclaimed speaker locally, nationally and internationally on the work of sacred sites protection and preservation, as well as the invisibility of her people. She was born and raised in Oakland, CA, the territory of Huichuin. She is the Co-Founder and a Lead Organizer for Indian People Organizing for Change, a Native run grassroots organization that works on Indigenous people issues. In 2011 Corrina, Johnella LaRose, Wounded Knee De Ocampo and a committee of others, joined together and put a call out to warriors to create a prayerful vigil and occupation of Sogorea Te in Vallejo CA, an occupation that lasted for 109 days and set precedence for future struggles to protect sacred sites. Her current work includes the Co-Founding of a Native women led urban land trust, the Sogorea Te Land Trust.

Alicia Rodríguez is a Puerto Rican independence fighter who was incarcerated for almost 19 and a half years as a political prisoner. She was born in Chicago in 1953. Living in the U.S. did not protect her from racism and poverty. In the early 1970s, her first trip to Puerto Rico was a turning point in her life. She witnessed the devastating effects of industrial pollution and resolved to join the anti-colonial struggle. In 1980, Alicia and ten other compañeras and compañeros were arrested and convicted of seditious conspiracy, the act of attempting to overthrow the government of the United States in Puerto Rico. She was sentenced to 85 years in prison. Alicia and other Puerto Rican political prisoners were released from prison on September 10, 1999, after a victorious campaign of solidarity forcing President Bill Clinton to grant clemency but with conditions. She lives in Puerto Rico. She has taught pottery making workshops in different cities in the United States and in Puerto Rico. Before the Puerto Rican economic crisis and Hurricane María’s destruction, Alicia taught clay classes in the town where she lives.

Lara Kiswani is a Palestinian born in the Bay Area. She got her Masters in Education with an emphasis on equity and social justice where her work focused on Arab youth, language and culture. As a student organizer, she helped to establish the Middle East South Asia Studies program, cofounded Students for Justice in Palestine and organized with Third World Forum at UC Davis. She has worked as a youth and adult educator, and is currently a member of Al-Juthoor of the Arab Shatat, a local Palestinian folkloric dance troupe, is a lecturer at San Francisco State University in the College of Ethnic Studies, and the executive director of the the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC).

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 3 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 3:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months, once Daylight Savings Time springs forward we tend to assemble at 4 PM).

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 2 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over five years! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions

Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations

Announcements

(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

KPFA and Pacifica have recently been threatened with bankruptcy and the possible closure of the stations and network. The financial crisis at Pacifica has been ongoing for many years. This forum will look at the present crisis and the views of those who want bankruptcy or a loan. It will also discuss the failure of Pacifica and the stations to bring new listeners, become a multi-media platform, and meet the needs of millions of people who want a vibrant national and international alternative media – a media network that would provide a voice to counter the growing rise of racism, fascism, xenophobia, sexism and the threat of world war with the bashing of Russia, North Korea, Venezuela and China.

Speakers:

Maria Gilardin, TUC Radio

Frank Sterling, KPFA Apprentice Program & Full Circle

Jeff Blankfort, Founder of “Save KPFA” and Host of Host KZYX&Z Takes on The World 90.7, 91.5

The Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP), Kehilla Community Synagogue, Plymouth Church of Jazz and Justice, Bend the Arc, Temple Sinai, Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, Oakland Community Organizations and the Alameda Labor Council invite you to a rapid response training. Join ACILEP´s team of volunteer responders to resist the raids and deportations. Learn how to verify ICE activity and be a legal observer in order to protect our communities from ICE! Rehearse critical and creative tactics for effective action!

Alameda County Immigration Legal & Education Partnership (ACILEP) is a partnership
of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance,
Causa Justa Just Cause, the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, Mujeres Unidas y Activas,
Oakland Community Organizations, Street Level Health, the Vietnamese American Community
Center of the East Bay, Centro Legal de la Raza, and the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office.
Theater of the Oppressed Assistance from Starr King School for the Ministry.

THE TIME TO SHOW UP FOR AUNTI FRANCES IS NOW! We will be gathering next Wednesday 2/21 at 8am in Hayward to support Aunti Frances at her settlement date with a huge breakfast rally. Please share widely! RSVP & coordinate rides: http://bit.ly/breakfastrally#DefendAuntiFrances

there’s been a lot of interest in Betty Reid Soskin’s soon-to-be-released autobiography, Sign My Name To Freedom, as well as to the Bay Area book launch event we’ve organized for her.

Because of that interest in the book launch event, we’ve taken a couple of measures in order to make sure we can comfortably accommodate all those who may come.

First, we’ve moved back the opening hour of the event to 5 pm. While there will be a brief program in the middle of the book launch, you will be able to come any time between 5 pm and 8 pm to meet and talk with Betty, to have your book signed by her, and to enjoy the entertainment and Geoffrey’s well-known soulfood cuisine. Come and stay a few minutes, or stay the whole time.

Join Oakland Privacy to organize against the surveillance state, police militarization and ICE, and to advocate for surveillance regulation around the Bay.

We fight against “pre-crime” and “thought-crime,” spy drones, facial recognition, police body cameras and requirements for “backdoors” to cellphones, to list just a few invasions of our privacy by all levels of Government.

We draft and push for privacy legislation for City Councils, at the County level, and in Sacramento. We advocate in op-eds and in the streets. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and believe no one is illegal.

Oakland Privacy originally came together in 2013 to fight against the Domain Awareness Center, Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub. OP was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network.

If you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy email listserv, coming to a meeting, or have questions, send an email to:

“WATCHING YOU WATCHING US”

Oakland Privacy works regionally to defend the right to privacy and enhance public transparency and oversight regarding the use of surveillance techniques and equipment. This month Oakland Privacy will be preparing for the passage of transparency ordinances in Oakland and Berkeley and kicking off new processes in Richmond and Alameda County, To help slow down the encroaching police state all over the Bay Area, join us at the Omni.

Want to get involved with SURJ Bay Area? SURJ moves white people to act for justice, with passion and accountability, as part of a multi-racial majority.

Featured Speaker: Troy Williams, former editor of the monthly San Francisco Bay View, National Black Newspaper which has been publishing since 1976.

Come learn about our current work and activities! You’ll also hear about SURJ’s new pathways for entering the work, including Study and Action groups as well as committee work, upcoming workshops, and events. We’ll answer your questions and share how you can get involved in the movement for racial justice.

Building Accessibility: There are two entrances to Sierra Club Office building on Webster and 21st both of which are accessible for mobility devices. The building has an elevator, and the kitchen space, conference room, and restrooms can also all accommodate mobility devices.

What exactly can be done about the Levin-Richmond coal terminal on the Richmond waterfront? Join the ongoing community discussion about how to remove this blight from our midst. Why do we have huge, uncovered piles of dirty, dusty coal sitting right next to our Bay—and contaminating several of our neighborhoods? Why is the Richmond terminal one of the last three ports left in the state to export this dirty fossil fuel when California doesn’t even use coal power? Why does the Bay Area, a region renowned for its environmental leadership, still allow coal trains to travel through our communities? Thanks to the falling price of clean energy and the commitment of activists all across the country, the coal industry is in retreat. We’ve retired 259 coal plants in seven years—that’s one plant retired every eleven days! And more than three million people work in the clean energy economy, which now employs more people than the fossil fuel industry in almost every state in the country. So let’s finish the job here!

The Anti Police-Terror Project began as a project of the ONYX Organizing Committee. We are a Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalition that seeks to build a replicable and sustainable model to eradicate police terror in communities of color. Founding coalition members include the Black Power Network, Community Ready Corps, Workers World, and the Idriss Stelley Foundation.

Richard Wolff, an American Marxist economist, well known for his work in economic methodology and class analysis, has rapidly become famous as well for his Pacifica Network Radio program, Economic Update, which is syndicated on over 60 stations. Additionally, Professor Wolff has made appearances on various television shows, radio shows and films including: Real Time with Bill Maher, The Young Turks, Moyers & Company, Charlie Rose, Al Jazeera America, The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann, Charlie Rose, CrossTalk, The David Pakman Show, Democracy Now! The Empire Files, Politics Nation with Al Sharpton, and The Real News Network (TRNN).

We have the dreadfully ominous prospect of President Donald Trump – just as the U.S. is sinking ever deeper into hard times for the vast majority of the population. More economic downturns are coming. Capitalism’s instability, inequalities, and failures to meet our needs are provoking rising opposition. Considering the increasing problems of drought, poverty, debts, job conditions, and a worsening environment, the American dream is now a past vision. Our political leaders are controlled by corporate giants and lobbies. Democracy fizzles. North Korea provokes.

In 1988 Wolff co-founded the journal Rethinking Marxism. Later he published Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What To Do About It. This was followed byOccupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism (with David Barsamian), Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian and Marxian (with Stephen Resnick), and Democracy at Work. The New York Times Magazine has named him “America’s most prominent Marxist economist.”

Event Host Sabrina Jacobs is the host and producer of the popular A Rude Awakening, aired on KPFA, Mondays 3:30 – 4pm.

Join Idle No More SF Bay and Indigenous Environmental Network at Wells Fargo headquarters in San Francisco to protest Wells Fargo’s crimes against Indigenous Peoples and the planet. We’ll paint a giant image (details coming) while we sing, pray and demand that Wells Fargo divest from fossil fuels, fossil fuel infrastructure, and projects that threaten the sacred system of life and violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior and informed consent.

We will also send a message that Wells Fargo’s grant of $50 million to Native American communities shows their fundamental hypocrisy. It’s no more than an attempt to green wash their record as they recently agreed to extend $1.5 billion in credit to the Canadian oil corporation, TransCanada, to build the Keystone XL pipeline. Protect Indigenous Sovereignty! Protect Clean Water! Climate Justice!

Home of the Compañero Manuel blog on the Zapatistas & MexicoThe next Waffles & Zapatismo class, with an open membership meeting after class from 12 Noon to 1pm. This first class of a series begins with the origins of the EZLN: the formation of the FLN, its entry into the Lacandón Jungle, its interaction with the indigenous communities and the formation of the EZLN. There is discussion after the presentation and from 12-1 there will be an open members meeting and an opportunity for folks to become activist members of the Chiapas Support Committee.

Zapatista News & Analysis!. 3 Dead in Oxchuc, Chiapas violence – Armed with high-powered weapons, supporters of the mayor-in-exile attacked supporters of an Indigenous movement that wants to oust the political bosses and govern by tradition in an indigenous Chiapas municipality.

2. EZLN: 24 years of dignity and ethical congruence – López y Rivas reminds us that when the EZLN rose up in arms on January 1, 1994, it spoke of a genocidal war. Now, he says, that war has worsened until making Mexico the 2nd deadliest country in the world, after only Syria. During all these years, the EZLN has been the incorruptible critical conscience vis a vis the State and society.

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